ING was launching a digital bank in the Philippines, with ambitions to scale across multiple markets, including China.

This wasn’t just about designing a product. It meant building the foundations for a digital banking experience across different regions, languages and cultural expectations.

At the same time, the design capabilityglossary×CapabilityCapability refers to an organisation’s ability to perform a specific function or deliver a particular outcome.Open glossary term→ needed to grow. A small team had to scale quickly into a multidisciplinary function that could support deliveryglossary×DeliveryDelivery is the process of building, testing, and releasing a product or feature.Open glossary term→ while shaping how design worked within the organisation.

The challenge sat across product, people and processglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→. Deliver a high-quality banking experience, while building the team and ways of working needed to sustain it.

Design was becoming a bottleneck. Demand was increasing, but the team, processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→ and alignmentglossary×AlignmentAlignment is the shared understanding and agreement between teams, stakeholders, and objectives.Open glossary term→ needed to support it weren’t in place yet.

Different markets brought different expectations. Cultural nuances, language differences and local behavioursglossary×BehaviourBehaviour refers to how users interact with a system, including actions, patterns, and responses.Open glossary term→ all needed to be understood and reflected in the product, but there wasn’t a consistent way of doing that.

Internally, ways of working were still evolving. Teams were not always aligned, processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→ lacked clarityglossary×ClarityClarity is how easily users can understand what is happening and what they need to do.Open glossary term→, and design was often pulled into deliveryglossary×DeliveryDelivery is the process of building, testing, and releasing a product or feature.Open glossary term→ without the space to properly shape direction.

The risk was clear. Without structure, quality would drop, teams would become reactive, and scalingglossary×ScalingScaling is the process of growing a product or system to handle increased demand without compromising performance or experience. It applies to technology, users, and operations.Open glossary term→ would become harder over time.

The focus was not just on deliveryglossary×DeliveryDelivery is the process of building, testing, and releasing a product or feature.Open glossary term→, but on creating the conditions for delivery to succeed.

Researchservice×User ResearchUnderstand user behaviour, validate ideas, and make clearer product decisions with evidence you can act on.Open service→ was carried out across markets to understand user behaviourglossary×User BehaviourUser behaviour refers to how users interact with a product, including actions, patterns, and decision-making processes.Open glossary term→, cultural expectations and local needs. This ensured the product was grounded in real user insightglossary×InsightAn insight is a meaningful understanding that explains why something is happening and what it means.Open glossary term→ rather than assumptions carried over from other regions.

At the same time, the design team was scaled and structured to support demand. Recruitmentglossary×RecruitmentRecruitment is the process of finding and selecting participants for research or testing.Open glossary term→, mentoring and clear role definition helped buildglossary×BuildA build is the process of compiling and packaging code into a runnable application.Open glossary term→ a team that could operate independently while maintaining consistencyglossary×ConsistencyConsistency is the use of uniform patterns, behaviours, and visual elements across a product to create familiarity and predictability. It helps users learn once and apply that knowledge throughout the experience.Open glossary term→.

Ways of working were introduced and refined, including the Double Diamond frameworkglossary×FrameworkA framework is a structured set of tools and conventions used to build applications more efficiently.Open glossary term→, to bring more structure to how problems were understood and solved.

Close collaboration with product, engineering and senior stakeholdersglossary×StakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term→ helped align priorities, improve communication and create a more consistent approach to deliveryglossary×DeliveryDelivery is the process of building, testing, and releasing a product or feature.Open glossary term→.

The result was a design team and operating modelglossary×Operating ModelAn operating model defines how an organisation delivers its products or services, including processes, roles, systems, and workflows.Open glossary term→ capable of supporting a growing digital bank across multiple regions.

The product experience was shaped by real user insightglossary×InsightAn insight is a meaningful understanding that explains why something is happening and what it means.Open glossary term→, ensuring it worked for local markets while maintaining consistencyglossary×ConsistencyConsistency is the use of uniform patterns, behaviours, and visual elements across a product to create familiarity and predictability. It helps users learn once and apply that knowledge throughout the experience.Open glossary term→ across the wider platformglossary×PlatformA platform is a system or environment that enables users, services, or applications to interact, build, or operate.Open glossary term→.

Design was no longer a bottleneck. Clear roles, better processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→ and stronger collaboration allowed teams to move with more confidenceglossary×ConfidenceConfidence is the level of certainty in a decision or outcome based on available evidence.Open glossary term→ and less frictionglossary×FrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term→.

The introduction of structured ways of working improved how problems were approached, making it easier to move from discoveryglossary×DiscoveryDiscovery is the phase of understanding problems, users, and opportunities before building solutions.Open glossary term→ through to deliveryglossary×DeliveryDelivery is the process of building, testing, and releasing a product or feature.Open glossary term→ without losing clarityglossary×ClarityClarity is how easily users can understand what is happening and what they need to do.Open glossary term→.

This created a more stable foundation for both the product and the organisation, supporting continued growth and iterationglossary×IterationIteration is the process of repeatedly improving a product through cycles of testing, feedback, and refinement.Open glossary term→.

The design team successfully scaled from a small group into a multidisciplinary function, capable of supporting ongoing deliveryglossary×DeliveryDelivery is the process of building, testing, and releasing a product or feature.Open glossary term→ across markets.

Design quality improved, and teams were able to work more efficiently with clearer roles, responsibilities and processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→ in place.

Better alignmentglossary×AlignmentAlignment is the shared understanding and agreement between teams, stakeholders, and objectives.Open glossary term→ across product, engineering and stakeholdersglossary×StakeholderA stakeholder is any individual or group with an interest in a product, project, or outcome, including internal teams and external parties.Open glossary term→ reduced frictionglossary×FrictionFriction refers to anything that slows users down or makes it harder for them to complete a task. It can be caused by poor design, unnecessary steps, unclear messaging, or technical issues.Open glossary term→ and improved decision-making.

The product was shaped by real user needs across different regions, creating a more relevant and effective banking experience.

This established a clear foundation for future growth, both in terms of the product and the organisation behind it.

This project reinforced that scalingglossary×ScalingScaling is the process of growing a product or system to handle increased demand without compromising performance or experience. It applies to technology, users, and operations.Open glossary term→ a product without scaling the team and processesglossary×ProcessA process is a defined sequence of steps used to achieve a specific outcome.Open glossary term→ behind it doesn’t work.

As organisations grow, complexity increases. Without the right structure, teams become reactive, quality drops and progress slows down.

The role of design in these environmentsglossary×EnvironmentA specific setup where software runs, such as development, staging, or production.Open glossary term→ is not just to produce outputs, but to create clarityglossary×ClarityClarity is how easily users can understand what is happening and what they need to do.Open glossary term→. To shape how teams work, how decisions are made, and how problems are approached.

Get that right, and the product improves as a result.